Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES
Read the following article carefully and make notes in the margin as you read.
Your notes should include:
Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES
Questions/Notes: Answer in COMPLETE SENTENCES unless otherwise instructed. Read the following article
carefully and make notes in the margin as you read.
Your notes should include:
o Comments that show that you understand the article (A summary or statement of the main idea of important
sections may serve this purpose)
o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read.
o Interesting facts or something new that you learned.
o Observations about how the writer’s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective, support).
Student ____________________________Class Period__________________
Console smackdown! PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One
By Doug Gross, CNN
updated 6:46 PM EST, Wed November 13, 2013 | Filed under: Gaming and Gadgets
It's Sony versus Microsoft in a battle of new video game consoles hitting the market in the coming days.
(CNN) -- The last time a knew PlayStation or Xbox hit the market, Facebook had fewer than 12 milion
users, a tablet was a pill and no body outside of Apple had heard of a gadget called the iPhone.
That was more than seven years ago. It's a vastly different technology landscape that will greet Sony and
Microsoft in the coming days when the two old rivals go head to head again with splashy new consoles.
Sony's PlayStation 4 hits stores on Friday, with Microsoft's Xbox One coming a week later, on November
22.
Between them, they account for two of the gaming world's Big Three (Nintendo, which rolled out the Wii U
last year, casts a wider net to draw children, families and more casual players). The venerable
PlayStation and Xbox remain the fiercest rivals for the hearts and minds of so-called hardcore gamers -the diehards who stand in line for intense, intricate titles like "Call of Duty" that pull in more cash than
Hollywood blockbusters.
But it was 2005 when the Xbox 360 hit the market, and a year later when the PlayStation 3 debuted. Now,
the two platforms will be competing for holiday dollars in a world where anyone can boot up a video game
instantly on a phone or tablet, and in which streaming and cloud technology mean most major videogame titles can be played as easily on souped-up PCs.
Even the now-ubiquitous Facebook, which now has 1.1 billion users, plays a role. Tens of millions of
people play games on the site daily (athough few of the faithful who will line up for the new consoles may
consider crushing candy or farming virtual cows "real" gaming).
So which of the two rivals, if either, will cut through the clutter and prevail? It remains to be seen, though
the fight has already begun.
Earlier this year, Microsoft reversed course on poorly received plans to require Xbox One users to be
online while playing and to limit how much digital games could be shared or resold. But that wasn't before
Sony got in some shots of its own.
Early reviews of the PS4 have been positive, with Time.com's Matt Peckham praising it as "everything
Sony's learned about platform design, honed and polished to something just shy of perfection."
The Xbox One will get its chance to shine next week. And the debate over which platform is better will
continue, long after the new consoles start landing in homes.
Until then, here's a "tale of the tape" look at some of the features of two devices.
Launch date
PlayStation 4: November 15
Xbox One: November 22
Price
PlayStation 4: $399
Xbox One: $499
Titles at launch
PlayStation 4: 16
Xbox One: 23
Exclusive titles
PlayStation 4: Deep Down; Driveclub; InFamous: Second Son; Killzone: Shadow Fall; Knack; Resogun;
Shadow of the Beast; The Order: 1886.
Xbox One: Dead Rising 3; Forza Motorsport 5; Halo 5; Killer Instinct; Project Spark; Quantum Break;
Ryse: Son of Rome; Sunset Overdrive; Titanfall.
Entertainment Apps
Both: Netflix, Amazon Instant, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Redbox Instant
PlayStation 4: NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center Live, Sony Music Unlimited, Sony Video Unlimited
Xbox One: HBO Go, Watch ESPN, Fox Now, FX Now, TED, Univision Deportes, Xbox Music, Xbox
Video
Processor
PlayStation 4: 8-core x86-64 AMD "Jaguar" CPU
Xbox One: 8-Core AMD custom CPU
Memory
PlayStation 4: 8 GB
Xbox One: 8 GB
Storage
PlayStation 4: 500 GB
Xbox One: 500 GB
Camera
PlayStation 4: None (Available for $59)
Xbox One: Kinect 2
1.
Write the underlined sentence from the passage correctly. No need for a complete sentence here – this
one is all or none.
2.
Fill in the chart with the correct information from the article. Below the chart, explain why organizing the
information in a chart such as the one below may be easier for some reader’s to understand the
information being presented.
Feature
Sony PlayStation 4
Microsoft Xbox One
Appearance
Launch Date
3.
How does the compare and contrast structure of the article contribute to the author’s purpose?
4.
What obstacles might be faced by both Microsoft and Sony in the launch of their product (from the text)?
5.
If you were in the market to purchase a gaming system, would you purchase the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4?
Explain your choice!